Why Ukrainians treated differently from other refugees?

[Babymamamama]

Disclaimer I’m not a current affairs specialist and not trying to start a bun fight this is a genuine question.
Aibu to ask why it is Ukranian refugees have on appearance been treated so differently from other groups fleeing dreadful conflicts in their home country. I’m specifically thinking of Afghan and Syrian nationals as they are the two groups I’m most aware of.

Round my way people have been hosting Ukrainians, clubbing together as whole streets to contribute to flat deposits, gathering up household items to set up Ukrainians in their temporary homes, holding fundraising concerts. It’s all all admirable and I myself have also contributed where I could. But a lingering question remains -why for this group and not the others? Is this unconscious bias? Why the difference in approach and treatment? Not wanting to offend but something about this doesn’t sit well with me. Can anyone with more knowledge of world affairs enlighten me please?

@Velvettia spot on
Bring on indyref2 and let us English have a vote as well 😉

@Itiswasitis90 you don't have to be white to be racist, but I'm willing to be you are since you haven't set me straight.

I think it's a bit of al of the above - but also distance is a factor. I know people who have got in their cars and driven across Europe to try to being relatives to the UK. It all seems very close to home and the media has documented the war so people clearly understand what is going on.

This is my view too

This... I thought everybody knew.

‘Round my way’ there isn’t this. Some things (English lessons/ childcare support) can’t be accessed as they aren’t officially refugees. Schools still haven’t got any funding (usually is quicker, this hasn’t been processed). Most things were talked about, but didn’t happen-eg the weekly church social club plans or summer holiday scheme. Other things were limited (ferries offered a few free travel but blocked loads), tfl were awkward in reality. The council did an info evening, but it was basically paid overtime for staff. No real info or ongoing support there. Wouldn’t work with the existing community. I know someone who only go their visa last week.

LOADS of aggravation locally those about treating them better. Lots of Facebook posts. A petition in a few schools about it. Complaint to school governors (the free clothing support was the same as given to refugees previously).

Ive now seen a few bubbles like you describe, but in cities (where most are) it’s just fantasy that this amazing deal happened.

I don't think Afghan/Syrian/Iraqi women and children were treated as well as Ukrainians so I don't personally buy the gender argument.
Britain has equal if not more of a burden to help refugees from the Middle East because of the UK's political involvement in the region.
As for eating pork as a reason, please. People have gone through far more inconveniences to host Ukrainians. One poster was saying how she's hosting Ukrainians despite her children not getting along and I'm sure she is not unique there. So, I'm sure you could hold off the bacon or eat it in your separate kitchen or outside the home for a few months if you really wanted to host a muslim female refugee and her children.

Ukrainian culture is quite different to British so it's not cultural similarity. It's the fact they are white and relatively close in geography.

See. There you go. Been lied to all your life you start to believe it. No Liz it's because they are white and Christian. The OTHERS were not.
With regard to the clear enamy in Afghanistan and Syria. Just look in the mirror.

Bttw - we don't have many Ukrainian refugees in my area, but we do have lots of Somalian and Afghan.

About local council support. Councils do have staff in place to help non-Ukrainian refugees
The government decided to treat Ukrainian refugees differently and are funding councils to set up teams to sort out the work around placing them with sponsors. Ie house and dbs checks, payments etc. Ukrainians are entitled to work and also claim Universal credit so some of them will move into rented accommodation.

Because they’re clearly refugees who are displaced by war who want to go back to Ukraine. Harder to be sympathetic to economic migrants or people whose country is destroyed by long term internal infighting. I’m not saying this is morally right.

Not throwing a bun at all, but I just wanted to point out that Ukraine has already been slowly destroyed by long-term internal fighting since 2014 (Donbas, Crimea, pro-Russian separatists) that has now mushroomed into a long, drawn out proxy war that won't see its end for another decade (optimistically speaking). And, surprise, surprise, it's another big, drawn-out oil row! Sounds a lot like... Syria (Russian military tactics and all).
The upside is, that even mid-war, leaders can still land Vogue covers. 🙄

Unfortunately, yes. This is the main reason.

With regards to Syria, Russia helped Asad to bomb the insurgents out of the cities etc. So Syrians were fleeing Putis as well as Asad's air strikes. Syria has a mix of different religious groups and they're not all Muslim. Some are Orthodox Christians, Jews and smaller religious minority groups.

Because the media told us to.

Because underneath it all there is a lot of racism
and xenophobia in the UK.

Because Ukraine is part of Europe and there are closer ties, associations and shared history.

MVVP you only have to look at how differently Poland has reacted to Ukranian and Middle Eastern refugees. The former they've welcomed with open arms and the latter they've been openly hostile towards. That's because they're not white and mainly Muslim and the Polish government has an aversion to both.

BBC news have a piece on trans and gay Afghanistan refugees being housed in Brighton.

The posh wedding hotel locally has 93 male refugees in there. They're people who've come across the channel.
They'll be rehoused I assume as soon as they've built 93 homes for them.

The are over 3.3 Muslims in the uk of which 90% come from ethnic minority backgrounds so I the white British population is racist by not wanting to take in Afghan and Syrian refuges what is the reason why these 3.3 million non white muslims not wanting to house them either?

The people who organise this by opening up their homes, arrange clothes collections etc are women themselves so are more likely to house another woman especially if she has children.

No Afghan or Syrian has blown up themselves up on concerts or left bombs on trains.

The Manchester attack was carried out by a British man born in Manchester.

The 7/7 attacks were carried out by 3 British men born in Bradford and Leeds and one Jamaican man who had lived in London since the age of 5.

But I suppose they were Brown / Black and Muslim so that's enough to make them "foreign" in the eyes of most British people.

You can probably guess why White Christian Ukrainians are treated so differently to other refugees.

There was no media campaign or government funding to house these refugees. That's why.

a few reasons imo:
a) it’s a war in Europe. We get emotive about it and want to help. Blitz spirit and all that
b) Ukrainians are more culturally similar (although not totally) so people are more comfortable hosting them. Personally I probably could host a Ukrainian if I had the space but wouldn’t choose to host someone from the Middle East as I think our values/culture would be too different to be compatible
c) Ukrainians generally speak English
d) there’s a clear baddy for us to unite against and one of the ways we can do so is to help Ukrainians
e) a lot of us have been to ukraine, to Kyiv. It feels more emotive to see it blown up than places in the Middle East we’ve never heard of or been. More emotive = more action.
f) same as above, Ukraine lived in peace till recently. For my entire life there’s been conflict in the Middle East. It’s hard to suddenly start to generate a lot of action and sympathy on something that feels like it’ll never end.

It completely boils my piss that Ukrainians have been treated better. I read a local news report virtual signalling about it only yesterday. Yet others are living on the breadline or even homeless.

And those saying they will go back. Do you not think other refugees would go back if they could?! Do you think the Ukrainian war will only last 6 months??

And there ARE economic migrants amongst the Ukrainians too. Sorry to break it to you.

Because the media pushed the agenda of taking in Ukrainian refugee whilst its always vilified afghan and Syrian refugees

And people have gone along with it as they agree with the media's racist thinking

Also Russia is bombing Ukraine, Syria and Afghanistan were bombed by us and the USA so we obviously don't give a shit about them